


Presence

by lemonbronze



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Headcanon, M/M, One Shot, Spoilers, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonbronze/pseuds/lemonbronze
Summary: A look at Leon's life and memories, and all the times Raihan has been there.
Relationships: Leon/Raihan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 222





	Presence

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all!  
> Hope you enjoy my contribution to a ship that's totally stolen my heart.
> 
> Heads up: This is a headcanon-heavy piece. My version of Leon is trans, so if that bothers you, please back out now! (That said, his being trans only figures into a small scene in this fic.)
> 
> Cross-posted to Tumblr @transchampionleon!

Ten years old. Ten was the most important number to Leon and to most of the other kids his age, too. At ten, the universe opened up; at ten, any of them could do anything, be anything, go anywhere and live any life they could dream up.

And Leon was going to be Champion.

He knew it from the first time he ever set eyes on the little orange companion that would soon become his best friend. The two had shared a bond almost from day one, and Charmander’s strength and Leon’s spirit were sure to take them both far. So he set his sights as far as he could imagine, packed up his belongings, and started walking toward the finish line.

He didn’t bother to introduce himself to any of the other kids leaving around the same time. He came from a small town, himself, and he knew any city kids he might encounter would probably ignore him at best, or more likely hate him. He wasn’t a threat—yet—but he would be on their radars soon enough. 

For now, he didn’t want anyone to see him.

The second day after leaving home, he found his way to the nearest big city. He sold almost everything he owned, traded the skirt his mother had chosen for a pair of shorts and a baseball cap, cut his hair off short and never looked back.

The next time he visited his mom and grandparents, they would be expecting Leigh. Leon would explain everything then.

*

As it turned out, Leon’s identity wasn’t that big of a deal. By the time he got back home again a year later, his mother had just had a baby, and Leon’s changes (and his three gym badges, and his collection of tough Pokémon, and his being eleven now) took a back seat to the hustle and bustle of a newborn.

When he held his little brother for the first time, he couldn’t be mad. 

*

Hammerlocke was big, and smoggy, and confusing, and Leon had been walking in circles for over an hour. He _really_ wanted to see the vault, but in order to do that, he’d have to find it first. But it was starting to rain, and if he was lost in the sun he’d definitely never figure out where he needed to be with less visibility, and he knew he needed to find a place to wait for the bad weather to pass.

He gave an annoyed little kick to the side of the nearest building and then headed inside.

The building, as it would happen, was a cafe; Leon fished around in his pockets to come up with enough money to buy himself a cup of tea and took up residence in a seat near the window. Only a couple of sips into his drink, he was interrupted by the chair opposite him scooting roughly on the tile floor.

“Hey. There’s no seats. Can I share?”

Leon blinked up at the speaker: a boy, maybe a year or so younger. Tall and gangly and awkward-looking, he grinned lopsidedly with his sharp teeth showing. He wore short dreadlocks and a Dragon-type jersey, and he had mud splattered on his face, shirt, and hands. Even so, he was holding a muffin as if it was the only food he’d seen in weeks, and his bright blue-green eyes darted between the muffin and the seat.

Leon shrugged and smiled. “Go for it,” he said.

The boy flopped down in the chair and ate a third of his muffin in one bite. “I’m Raihan,” he said, barely swallowing his food first. “How ‘bout you?”

A pause. “Leon.” It still felt a little unnerving to give that name, and there was always a moment of trepidation as he wondered whether or not he’d be questioned about it.

“Where you from?”

“Postwick.” Leon took a swig of his tea, trying to match the high-energy way Raihan was eating. “Not too far away, I guess.”

Raihan polished off the remainder of the muffin and then pulled another from his backpack. “I’m from right here in Hammerlocke,” he said. He broke the muffin in half and handed a piece to Leon. “If you couldn’t tell by the accent.”

Leon took the muffin. “I could.” He shoved it into his mouth like Raihan had. _This is awful. Who eats like this?_

“I’m s’posed to be guarding the vault today, but when it’s muddy it’s a great time to practice Sandstorm!” Raihan beamed as he leaned back casually in his chair. “You wanna go with me? Practice some weather moves?”

“Sure!” Leon downed the rest of his tea and gathered his backpack. “But after that, take me to the vault, okay? I want to see it before I leave town.”

“That old dusty place? Why? It’s boring and I get stuck shooing nosy tourists away from it at least twice a week.”

“Because! I’m gonna be the Champion, so I need to learn as much as I can about Galar’s history!”

Raihan frowned. “Fair,” he said, after a moment of quiet, “but...actually, I’m gonna be the Champion, so don’t get your hopes up.”

_Oh. So it was like that?_

Leon threw on his best smirk and said, “Yeah, okay, Dragon kid. Battle me then and prove it!”

“I will!”

“Good.”

“Good!”

The two boys raced to the door and out into the rain together.

*

It was Leon’s thirteenth birthday. Bright-eyed and with a mess of purple hair he couldn’t tame and didn’t think twice about anymore, he spent his days wandering through the forests and valleys, caves and cities, slowly making his way through the world he called home. He had a goal and he was never going to waver from it, no matter how many obstacles got in his way.

And no matter how many times that other kid tried to stop him.

It seemed like every couple of days, he ran into Raihan, chasing along behind him and yelling for a battle. Leon liked Raihan and enjoyed their rivalry, but he didn’t appreciate being held up so often. Today, Raihan had been tailing him for over a mile through the woods, pretending like he wasn’t doing it on purpose. As night began to fall and the two still hadn’t made it through to the city on the other side of the trees, Leon resigned himself (with a bitter little sigh) to invite the other boy to camp with him for the evening.

Tomorrow, they’d both be taking on the Champion.

Tomorrow, they’d finally see who had been right all this time.

But tonight, they were friends at heart, and Leon wasn’t going to ditch Raihan in the wilderness. 

“Rai,” he called down the path. The other boy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked off into the woods. “Rai, I know you’re following me. Come on and help me set up camp, yeah? Let’s call it a night.”

“You sure?” Raihan asked as he dropped all pretense and jogged over. “I mean, you don’t wanna get to the city tonight?”

“Sure, but it’s late and I’m tired.” Leon stretched and threw his backpack off into the grass. “Plus, we’re not that far. If we get up at sunrise, we’ll still make it in plenty of time.”

“You don’t wanna be late to see me become the Champion.”

“Keep dreaming, Rai.”

*

The next day, amid the roaring cheers and screams of the massive crowd, Raihan threw his arms around Leon in a big, tight hug.

There was something surreal about achieving a lifelong dream. Something almost empty, hollow, and desperately lost.

Raihan’s hug was warm and grounding, and Leon returned it with a fluttering feeling in his stomach that probably came from his victory. Probably.

*

When Leon was sixteen, his mom brought his five-year-old little brother to visit him in Wyndon. They stayed in Hammerlocke on the way, and Raihan managed to invite himself along for the trip too.

Two days later, Leon’s mom and Hop went home. Raihan stayed.

“I never see you anymore,” he’d said by way of explaining himself. “You’re always busy.”

Leon didn’t tell him that the loneliness was the worst part of being Champion. He didn’t mention how he could feel completely alone standing among thousands of screaming fans, or how all he wanted was to sit near the warmth of someone he cared about and do something wildly simple. Play a game, watch a movie.

Eat a muffin in two bites.

And he certainly didn’t tell Raihan that he had thought about their hug at the stadium nearly every day for the past three years. There were things Leon had to keep to himself, especially now that he was in the spotlight, and that was one of them. Not that he would’ve ever had the nerve to say something like that.

But Raihan sat next to him unprompted anyway, and turned on some mindless television, and they spent the evening in a quiet and calm that was uncharacteristic for either one of them.

Leon leaned on his rival’s shoulder. Raihan played with the Champion’s hair.

Neither one talked about it again.

*

As the years wore on, Raihan went out of his way to regularly challenge—and lose to—Leon. And Leon, in turn, always took him out for drinks after his spectacular defeats. The rivals could often be found on those nights in the darkest, sketchiest dive bar they could find, far away from the paparazzi, laughing and reminiscing.

Sometimes Leon would lean a little too close and speak a little too low and smell a little too good.

And sometimes Raihan would laugh too loud and linger too long on an accidental touch.

When the bars closed, they always went their separate ways, back to their now-adult lives and the destinies they’d both carved out for themselves.

*

When Leon was twenty-three, his whole life flashed before his eyes.

He’d done everything he was supposed to do—everything he’d been told to do, like always, like always—but something had gone terribly wrong. The creature in front of him could no longer be contained and no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t going to win this.

He lost his grip on the situation and it escalated in a split-second. Eternatus roared and something exploded; the impact sent Leon several feet back and he collapsed, sensing blood oozing from a wound he didn’t have the nerve to check. 

His little brother was there. He couldn’t go down this easily. Not when Hop needed someone to protect him.

But the ground was spinning and the blood was trickling down the side of his head now. Maybe if he could just lie down for a moment—

“Lee!”

Hop sounded far away. _Wasn’t he here just a minute ago?_

In the darkness and chaos, Leon closed his eyes and felt the cool ground against his face. Memories flooded past, carrying him back to the early days of his Championship, back to cold nights under the stars with nothing but his team and a tent, back to gyms and cafes and rainy days and muddy battles—

The memories marched on, confused and haphazard, but through them all, Raihan was there. He’d always been there. Just as Leon felt his consciousness drifting into the fog, he could’ve sworn he heard his rival say something, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

* 

“Lee? Leon, hey. You awake?”

Raihan’s voice was soft, but it sliced through Leon’s head like a blade anyway. He winced and forced his eyes open, just a crack—just enough to peer at the shadowy figure hunched beside him.

Everything was beeping, and his hand felt like it was in a vice. The room was dim and he couldn’t quite make out anything as he tried to look around.

“Where...?”

Talking hurt more than it was supposed to. He fell silent.

Raihan brushed Leon’s hair out of his face and said, “Geez, Lee. Never thought I’d be so happy to see you.” 

Awareness was slowly returning, and Leon realized in the same moment that Raihan’s voice was thick with tears, and that the pressure he felt on his hand was his rival squeezing it with all his strength.

Ah, right. Eternatus.

Leon took a sharp, shaking breath and said, “Thought I was done for.”

“Yeah. I thought you were, too.” Raihan used his free hand to furiously wipe at his own eyes, then added, “Shit. Don’t ever make me cry over you again, idiot.”

Leon murmured something incoherent in response. His head throbbed, his chest ached, and he felt like he might be sick if he tried to look around the room again, so he shut his eyes once more. A hundred questions sprang up almost instantly: _Where’s Hop? What happened with Eternatus? How badly am I hurt? Did I miss the Championship battle?_ But he couldn’t find the strength to ask any of them.

With that same old intuition he’d always seemed to have—at least where Leon was concerned—Raihan said, “Hop’s okay. Don’t worry. I told him and your mom to go try and rest, and let me take over for a little while.” He reached for his phone. “I’ll tell them you’re awake.”

Leon nodded and regretted the action immediately.

“Take it easy, Lee,” said Raihan. “You’ve got a real bad head injury. Don’t go moving around too much for a while, okay?”

“Yeah,” said Leon quietly. Then: “Thanks for being here, Rai.”

“‘Course I’m here. I was here as soon as I found out what happened.”

“When I—” Leon hesitated. Did he really want to say this? He opened his eyes again and looked once more at the man sitting beside him. Raihan was a mess of tear streaks and baggy eyes, and his expression was solemn. He hunched beside the hospital bed as close as he could without directly sitting on it, and he didn’t once tear his piercing gaze away.

Yeah. Leon had to say it.

“When I was hurt, I kept seeing you in my mind,” he blurted, pushing past the pain to speak once again. “You’ve always been there for me. Always.”

Raihan was quiet for a long while. Finally, he said, “You thought about me at a time like that?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit.” 

“What?”

“You can’t just say something like that and expect me to know what to say back.” Raihan grinned a little, allowing a shade of his usual self to shine through. “But...I’m really glad to hear it, anyway.”

Leon gave a weak smile in return. There was more he needed to say, but he didn’t have the energy; as it was, he wanted to be awake enough to speak to his family when they arrived, so his feelings for his rival would have to wait. He fell into silence and drifted in and out of sleep, sensing the warmth of the other man’s presence each time he awoke, knowing Raihan would always be there.


End file.
